


Spun Golden

by Ashra663



Category: Rumpelstilzchen | Rumpelstiltskin (Fairy Tale)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24191743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashra663/pseuds/Ashra663
Summary: Rupert Stiltskin is a middle-aged DEA agent living in the small mountain town of Castle.  A new drug, Spun Gold, threatens the community, and Rupert has to find the Kingpin before it's too late.





	Spun Golden

Spun Golden

Rupert Stitskin was parked across from the rancher he’d been staking out the week before. A thick fog surrounded the squad car on the top of the mountain, it was shortly after eight pm and the mountain shadows covered him in darkness. 

He was in his mid-forties, short and balding with a hooked nose, he had a small potbelly from too many donuts. Although his body was past its prime, his mind remained sharp. On the stakeout he saw people at all hours of the day coming in, random people at odd hours, all of them asking for Bill. Some customers were high school age, not much older than his own son. 

Six squad cars pulled onto the side of the road. Men and women dressed in black body armor marched orderly to the door. The lead man knocked hard on the door, no answer, he banged again on the door, now hard enough to cause a small crack in the cheap wood.

“Aaron Paxton, we have a warrant to search!” said the leader.

Still no answer. The lead moved to the side and one of the larger team members kicked the door, splitting the cheap wood down the middle. A second kick and the door caved inward. The team filed in an orderly manner. Flashlight beams moved around the house , checking for evidence. 

“All clear, you should come in and investigate,” said a female voice over the CB Radio.

“What’s the M.O.?” asked Rupert.

“Looks like another O.D., we also found a greenhouse but not more n’ that, looks like the house is trashed too, an ambulance was called, should be here shortly.”

Rupert looked around the house for evidence, the inside of the rancher was filthy; stacks of old newspapers sat in piles gathering dust, containers of half-eaten food were rotting and moldering in the sink, roaches and flies crawled around on the counters. 

He wrinkled his nose and walked carefully to the backyard, which was grown over with weeds. In the middle of the yard stood a greenhouse, bright and in pristine condition compared to the rest of the house. He opened the thin mesh door and found rows upon rows of planters full of straw; out of the straw grew flowers that resembled poppies, but instead of red, they were a deep golden color. 

Rupert smelled the heady perfume that lingered in the air. Small trails started to form in his vision, and drowsiness hit him like a truck. He slammed the door behind him as he left the greenhouse and gulped down fresh, humid air to clear out his senses. 

“Definitely another grow operation for Spun,” said Rupert.

The lead shook his head, “It seems like every time we find one, two more crop up in its place.”

“I know, but we have to keep trying to find the person in charge of all this” Rupert sighed as he massaged his temples.

Spun was short for Spun Golden, a genetically modified plant. The plant had hallucinogenic properties of belladonna and addictive qualities of an opioid and grew best out of the soil in small pots aerated by straw. Spun recently discovered in small towns on the I81 and 68 corridors, roads that ran through small Appelatian towns, towns already depressed by a flailing mining or rust belt economy, towns already wrecked by the opioid crisis. 

After a few hours of investigating, Rupert drove down the mountain, the fog became clouds as he drove down the mountain into town. His ears popped and his head pounded, no doubt from the withdrawal of Spun.

He opened the door and his wife, Norma, embraced him. “You look awful, hon,” she said. Her plump body was soft and he smelled honeysuckle, her dark hair was showing the faintest trails of silver and was still stunning next to her dark blue eyes.

“It’s this case, every time I get close, it slips away from me, I can’t win.”

“Shh,” she kissed him. “I made you a casserole, it’s in the oven, why don’t you have dinner and a beer and meet me in bed?”

“I don’t think beer is the best idea right now, but thank you.” He held her tightly. “ I don’t know how I’d remain sane without you.” 

“Never you mind, hon.” She gave him another kiss and headed off the small bedroom in their modest house. He had known Norma since high school, they met in journalism class, and while he used his investigative skill to become an agent for the DEA, she became a drama and English teacher for Dalton Highschool. She also wrote novels in the summer when she wasn’t too busy taking care of their son Caleb. 

Rupert Stiltskin decided to become a deputy in the small town of Castle, hoping to use his investigative skills to become a detective. He applied to the DEA instead of a detective after witnessing the damage of the opioid crisis in his hometown. 

After dinner he peeped into the door where Caleb slept. He was now nearly thirteen, long and lanky. Rupert thought about all the time he lost, he was out looking for drug dealers while Norma took him to auditions for school plays. Rupert looked at his planner on his smartphone and marked ‘leave’ on the day of Caleb’s next show, and quietly shut the door. 

He curled next to Norma and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep

Rupert got up at 5 am in the morning to the sound of his neighbors’ rooster. He walked out of bed quietly and took a quick, hot, shower. He saw Caleb in the kitchen next to the coffee pot.

“You’re up early,” said Rupert.

“School starts early,” said Caleb handing him a large thermos of blonde brew, “I made you some coffee.”

“I can make you some oatmeal if you like, Pa, I learned a new magic trick with cards, look, I can show you!” said Caleb.

“I wish I had time,” sighed Rupert. “I have to be at the station early, DEA stuff; look, Caleb, when this is over, I promise, well I won’t promise, but I’ll try to be there for you, I know you have a show next Tuesday.”

“It’s all right,” said Caleb, “you're trying to catch whoever is making Spun Golden, one of my friend’s brothers died from that stuff.”

“Hang on there, what was your friend’s name?”

“Paul Willeck.”

“His brother would be Tom Willeck Jr?”

“Yes sir,” said Caleb, “Dad, just don’t tell them I told you, ok?”

Rupert frowned. “I understand, now run along to school” Rupert kissed his son on the cheek and grabbed his coffee and a glazed donut from the box on the counter.

He made his way down a winding mountain road into the town of Castle. The mountain range divided Pennsylvania from Maryland. Local law enforcement called in the DEA to cover this case as it was in a tri-state area and they needed federal jurisdiction, the criminals using the patchwork quilt pattern of state lines and winding mountain roads to avoid punishment. 

Before Spun many of the drugs were legally prescribed by doctors sold by the patients on the black market, many of the patients were without work and desperate for rent and food, sad but relatively small operations. Then Spun came into town with a small cartel, the drug was addictive as an opioid but caused vivid hallucinations. Violent crime spiked in Castle as the drug caused it’s victims to act erratically, seeing nightmarish images they couldn’t claw out of their mind, yet going through heroin-like withdrawal symptoms when they stopped. Nearly half of Spun addicts had to be administered psychiatric treatment. 

Rumor had it Spun hit the Baltimore and D.C. rave scene and was starting to make small ripples, they were trying to nip this flower in the bud before the ripples in the cities turned to waves, because once the waves hit and major gangs and international cartels found out about it, the small-town battle would turn into an all-out international war. 

The thick green forest and winding roads cleared to fields and farmhouses, then to shopping centers, then to the colonial row houses, brick and pavement of downtown Castle. He made his way downtown to the Sheriff’s office, parked his car in the small lot, and entered the building.

Ralston Hughes was manning the front desk. Ralston was a young African American man of a wiry disposition. He had left his precinct from Baltimore to live in peace and quiet, only to be landed in the middle of the Spun Crisis.

“How you doin’ Rupert?” asked Ralston.

“Doin’ ok, Rals, here to see the boss, I got a lead.”

“On the Spun case?”

“Yeah, back at the high school.”

“Damn, kids, that’s a shame, they get them hooked young, they have a customer for life. Seen it happen in poor hoods in Baltimore and D.C.,” Ralston sighed. “ I thought that Castle would be different, but it’s not and puts me at a huge disadvantage.”

“I can only imagine,” said Rupert.

“The first case I had here, Chief Ellis nearly got me lynched sending me to investigate a lead that ended up being a Clansmen, Shit, a drug baron is a drug baron, it doesn’t matter if you flash gang colors or wear white hoods and swastikas. It’s all about territory and power, and frankly I’m getting sick of the game. It’s everywhere you go.”

“You’re one of the best officers we have, Ralston, and you’re the liaison between Castle and the federal government.”

“I’m tired of driving back and forth to D.C., doing all y'alls paperwork.”

“Look, Rals, I’ll do the next run, after we tie up the Willeck case. I have a lead that I’d like to investigate,” said Rupert.

“Yeah, the Willeck case?” asked Ralston. “Sure, the Chief is in back if you want to see him.”

Rupert went to the back office and grabbed some over-brewed coffee in a Styrofoam cup. He saw Chief Ellis leaned over a stack of paperwork at his desk. Chief Ellis was in his 50s with salt and pepper hair, an athletic build, and a sour frown permanently engraved on his face.

“Stiltskin, you’re on your last legs with this investigation! The raid last night was a fiasco, another grow house but no one left alive and no leads to the source of Spun.”

“I found another lead, Sir, for Tom Willeck, the kid that overdosed on Spun a week ago.”

“And we investigated, sent moles into the High school, no one’s talkin’.”

“I have a lead, my son, he was friends with Tom’s little brother, Paul, I can interview his family, give it a personal touch, as a family man myself.”

Chief Ellis shook his head and sighed, “Go ahead, if we can just find a good lead, we have plenty of evidence from the grow rooms but not a lead on how it’s getting to the houses to grow or the community, the growers all overdosed or were murdered before we can ask them anything.”

“I’ll find out what I can, hopefully, it’ll be something new.” Said Rupert before leaving the station. Before the visit to the Willeck’s, he went to the local flower shop and bought a bouquet of white roses with a card that read: “Our condolences.”

Rupert remembered where the Willeck’s house was from driving Caleb over to play with Paul. He drove from downtown to a newer housing development on the outside of Castle. It was upon a hill that overlooked the town. The Willeck’s lived in a gray two-story house with white shutters, in a cul-de-sac near some woods. He remembered how Caleb would talk about how he and Paul had built a treehouse in the woods and how Tom would sometimes have paintball gun battles with them, much to Norma’s chagrin.

Rupert nervously rang the doorbell and a middle-aged woman answered. She had blonde hair cut at bob and was wearing leggings and a long tee-shirt. She looked very tired.

“Hi, I’m Rupert Stiltskin, an investigator with the DEA’s office,” he said.

“I’ve already spoken with the DEA, I’ve told them everything I know,” sighed the woman.

“Ma’am, I understand, I’m also a parent myself, you know I’m Caleb’s father, and he’s friends with Paul, I want to catch the monsters selling poison to our kids. If you don’t want to talk, I get it. I just thought I’d leave you these before I left.” He gave Mrs. Willeck the bouquet.

She looked at the bouquet and a tear ran down her cheek. “Come in, I’m Sharon, nice to meet you” she said wearily, “can I get you some coffee?”

“No ma’am, the stuff from the station already burnt the hair off my tongue.”

“Caleb is a good kid, he got Paul to get off his Xbox and go outside. Those two would play games in the woods for hours like king of the hill and capture the flag.”

“What about paintball?”

“Yeah,” she smiled, “All the time. When… when we lost Tom that hit Paul hard, I’ll do anything to catch the monster that killed him, but I’ve already said everything I knew to the police and DEA.”

“I just have a few questions about the boys, Caleb said that there was a treehouse back there.”

“Yes!” said Sharon, “I completely forgot about that! They never thought to search there.”

“May I?”

“Of course, anything to help, I’ll go with you and show you where it is.”

Rupert followed Sharon on a footpath through the woods. About a quarter-mile back there was a large oak tree with a small treehouse with a rope ladder. Rupert gingerly climbed the ladder and Sharon followed. 

On one of the walls, there was a heart carved into the wood. It read Tom + Mazzy surrounded by a heart.

“Did Tom have a girlfriend?” Rupert asked.

Sharron touched the heart, “Not one that I knew of, I never met Mazzy.”

“I’ll check the notes back at the station to see if I can find anything else. Did Tom have a cellphone?”

“I already signed it over to the station, I found it in the treehouse before Tom died.”  
“Did you notice anything else, Sharon, any changes in behavior?” Asked Rupert.

“A couple of weeks ago he became more distant, more withdrawn. He was away from the house more, I thought he was going to work.”

“Where did he work?”

“Just at the local barbeque place, Up in Smoke, at the other side of town,” said Sharon.

“Great place,” said Rupert, his stomach growling at the prospect of ribs, “I’m going to head back to the station now, you’ve been a great help, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” said Sharon, she was starting to tear up again but led Rupert back to the path and gave him a quick hug before he left.

His chest felt heavy as he drove back to the station, Tom was just a kid, barely sixteen years old, far too young to die from poison, yet it happened all the time. 

He went to the Chief’s desk “I need to have Tom Willeck’s phone records, we may have found a lead, he had a girlfriend,” demanded Rupert.

“Lots of teenage boys have girlfriends, doesn’t mean it’s a lead,” Chief Ellis barked back.

“His family didn’t know anything about her, he was keeping the relationship secret.”

“Maybe the kid just wanted some privacy, away from his snooping mom.”

“If I could just look at the cell phone records, I might be able to find out something new, his parents signed over permission.”

“If you think you can find anything noteworthy,” shrugged the Chief. “Ralston, take Stiltskin back to the evidence room.”

Rupert had to sign some paperwork and found the phone in the evidence locker, it had been barely charged, he plugged it in and opened it. He checked the photos there was a girl with bright pink hair and heavy black eye makeup next to him in most of them. Under the photo was the name Mazzy.

He then checked the high school yearbook and found a similar picture; the name underneath was Chrystal Miller. 

Chief Ellis had already had a mole sent out to Dalton High school to look for Chrystal Miller, she stopped attendance nearly two weeks ago, they checked with her father, Silas Miller, and according to him she ran away from home and he was worried sick.

Rupert was familiar with Silas Miller, when he was deputy, he was called out on several occurrences of domestic abuse. His wife, Ruby Miller, eventually left him and was somewhere in upstate New York. They had two daughters, Chrystal and Goldie.

Goldie had been accepted with a full scholarship into the University of West Virginia, Morgantown, about a hundred miles West of Castle. She was a biology major and had not been seen in Castle for the last couple of years. 

Chrystal was still in high school and had instances of truancy, underaged drinking and shoplifting. She had spent six months in Abraxas detention center for juveniles. She had missed her last parole hearing and had disappeared two weeks ago; the same time frame Tom Willeck had overdosed on Spun.

Rupert searched further into Chrystal Miller’s case; they found her parked car by a lookout near the Appellation Trail. Her cell phone was in the car but wiped clean and after a few miles on the trail all traces of her were gone. He decided to drive up to the lookout and do another brief investigation. 

He drove up the winding road to the lookout and it was dusk by the time he got there. There were a few hikers perched on a large, flat, rock cliffside. They were eating trail mix and enjoying the sunset, one of the kids had a guitar and was playing an ametur rendition of ‘Knocking on Heavens Door’ 

Among the hikers, he saw a slight young woman with piercings, magenta hair, and a stocking cap. She was wearing jeans and an oversized W.V. State College sweatshirt. She was quietly watching the sunset but sat by herself, away from the other hikers.

Rupert sat by the young woman. 

“Chrystal Miller?” He asked.

“I don’t know who you’re referring to,” she said, “did you lose your hiking party?”

“Would it be better if I called you Mazzy then?”

“I think it would be best if you stop asking questions,” she replied warily.

Rupert took out his badge, “I think you owe us some information.”

Mazzy started to tremble and tears poured from her jade green eyes, “Please sir, don’t make me go back there, don’t make me go back home, he’ll kill me or worse, I can’t go back!”

“Shhh,” said Rupert calmly. “It’s all right, who are you in danger from?”

“I can’t say, I really can’t, please, can I just go.”

“Look, I just need to ask you a few questions about Tom Willeck.”

“I don’t know nothin’ about Tom.”

“Look, you can go with me and ask a few questions, if you work with us we might even be able to get you some safety or I can bring you in on a parole violation.”

Her shoulders slumped and she started crying but obliged. Her face looked thin and she was shivering as she entered the back of the squad car. Rupert decided not to cuff her and on the way down he stopped by Up In Smoke. 

“They’ll see me here!” She said.

“I’m just going for the drive-through.” 

He pulled the squad car through the drive-through and Mazzy shrank up into a ball to avoid being noticed. He ordered two pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw and two large cups of cherry coke. Back at the station, Rupert brought Mazzy back to a room with a long table and gave her the coke and sandwich. She ate it ravenously and her shivering stopped.

“Are you feeling better Miss Miller?’

“Is this some good cop bad cop act?”

“There’s no bad cop here unless you count the Chief, but even he’s not so bad, just a hard ass. We’re trying to find out who sold Spun to Tom if you have any information it would help us greatly. I might even work a deal with the courts and have your parole violation mitigated. ”

“The only way I’ll say anything to you is if I can be put in the witness protection program, they’ll find me and kill me and make it look like an accident.”

“Who will find you?”

She started shivering and crying again. Rupert removed the badge in his pocket and draped his jacket over Mazzy. She was only a few years older than Caleb and clearly afraid for her safety, he wondered how far down the rabbit hole this young woman was.

“My father, Silas, he’s a grower for the Kingpin, look he has my sister and my nephew, I can’t put them in trouble.”

“So, he has your sister, Goldie, he took him from your father and is holding her for ransom?”

Mazzy started sobbing, “No sir, my daddy sold my sister to him. She was checking in on him after the divorce, the King took her son when she last visited and is holding him ransom so Goldie works for him. She was going to school for science or some stuff, she knows about genetic coding, CRISPR technology, she invented Spun to get her son back.”

“Do you know who the Kingpin is?”

Mazzy shook her head. “Daddy never talked about him in name.”

“How did your father come into contact with him.”

“Promise you’ll help me, not let anybody know that I’m here?” She looked at him pleadingly. 

“I’ll do what I can, but you’ll have to work with me.”

“My daddy is a Proud Boy, I don’t believe in that stuff, never did, part of the reason I left, but that’s how he met him,” she sighed and rolled her eyes, “they met online, the kingpin was running guns, my daddy said that Goldie knew science was really good with plants. She was into Four H and horticulture growing up, that stuff. Anyway, dad said that he was really upset with mom and he just wanted to see Goldie and his grandson.”

Mazzy took a deep breath, “Goldie knows where mom is, she told me when I got out of juvie that we could all go there and be safe, then dad found out our plans and wanted to make sure we would never leave.

He gave Goldie’s son to the kingpin and sold her to him, I thought he was going to make her do things, like sell her body,” she broke down and started sobbing, “but Goldie is smart, real smart, instead of her body she offered her mind, said she could create something that would make them all rich if she could just have her son and leave, but she’s still there, she’s been there nearly a year.”

Rupert gently patted her shoulder, “what you told me was very brave, and I’m gonna do everything in my power to make sure you stay safe. Do you know where the kingpin is?”

“Daddy wanted to take me up there to party with the King, I told him I had a boyfriend and I wasn’t that kind of girl. He found out who Tom was and now he’s gone, it’s my fault Tom’s dead, I should have just run away to mom.”

“It’s not your fault, it’s not your fault that bad people take advantage of kids, what’s important is you told us this now, we have a lead to catch the bad people. You sit tight, we’ll find a place for you to go.”

Rupert left the room and went to the back room on the other side of the glass. Chief Ellis was sitting there with a notepad.

“Poor kid, but I think we have enough information to get a stakeout, if the stakeout works, we’ll get a warrant,” said Ellis.

“What about the girl?” asked Rupert.

“Well, Stiltskin, I can work with juvenile services to make sure she stays safe if she agrees to testify. There’s a retreat called Mountain Manor that can keep her safe until it’s all over, then she can stay with her mother and older sister.”

“Mountain Manor is a psychiatric facility.”

“She’ll be safe, and get the treatment she needs, I’m sure the petty crimes were her acting out from all the dysfunction at home. It’s an optional choice, but it’s safe and they treat their patients well there.”

“We should leave the choice to her,” said Rupert.

“True, but she’ll take the Manor given the choice, it’s a safe place until this all blows over. She’ll be well cared for, they have talk therapy, treatment for PTSD, hell they even have horseback riding and camping trips for the less troubled patients. She hangs out for a few weeks, sings Kumbaya around a bonfire, we raid, get the kingpin she and Goldie to testify in court and bam, no more Spun issue.” 

“Is the government at least going to take care of the bill?” asked Rupert.

“It’ll be part of the witness protection program; she won’t have anything to worry about.”

Chief Ellis went into the room and Rupert could see him talking to her through the mirror. Instead of the intimidating police chief, he seemed gentle, even fatherly toward Mazzy. Rupert saw the girl nodding profusely and even hugging him. A few hours of paperwork later a car with a middle-aged woman came and took the girl away.

“Look, I’m going to need both you and Ralston to run a stakeout tonight,” barked Chief Ellis.

“Chief,” said Ralston, “Silas Miller is a Proud Boy, a White Supremacist, do really think it’s the best idea to put me on surveillance detail?” 

“It’s a stakeout, you just have to observe and remain inconspicuous.”

“In all due respect Chief, it’s not exactly easy to remain inconspicuous when you’re a brother heading up the Grand Dragon’s house.”

“We’ll have a mole from Dalton High School, his name is Carson, he was caught dealing on campus a few weeks ago, we cut him a deal with the court if he would help us out.”

Rupert remembered Carson was the mole for the raid a few nights ago, he was surprised the kid was still alive at this point. 

“We need you to start at 2100 tonight,” said Chief Ellis.

“Fine,” groaned Ralston.

“All I ask is that I go home to my family and get some shut-eye, it’s gone to be a long night,” said Rupert.

Rupert came home and held Norma close, he apologized for not calling and explained the incident with Mazzy, he trusted that Norma would not say a word to anyone. 

“I was just worried about you, hon, these are dangerous people.”

“I understand, I’ll try to keep in touch more.” 

“And the girl, is she going to be all right? She’s not much older than Caleb.”

“She’s going to be just fine, she’s in good hands.” He kissed her, “after this is over I’ll spend more time with you and Caleb, I have some leave I can take.”

“Caleb’s school is premiering Frankenstein vs the Horrendous Goo, Caleb got the part of the chemistry teacher. He’d be so excited if you could come and see it.”

“I think we might be raising the next James Dean.”

“More like Jack Black, “Norma chuckled, “He’s very funny, you’d see if you were around more, still thinks fart jokes are hilarious though.”

“Boys never grow out of that,” said Rupert, “just fair warning.” He kissed Norma and went to their bed. If crude humor was the worse that they’d have to worry about from Caleb, then he and Norma seemed to be doing pretty good.

He woke up at eight in the evening and by nine he drove to the nearby Sheetz to meet Ralston and Carson. 

Carson had on tan cargo pants and a tee-shirt with a red and green marijuana plant printed on the front. He had long, wavy hair and smelled like patchouli. 

“You know marijuana isn’t legal in West Virginia, right kid?” said Rupert.

“Dude, relax, I’m going to go in and get the little golden flowers for you man, then you’ll have evidence to bring this asshole down. Marijuana never killed anyone, not like Spun man, it’s legal in Colorado, once my parole is over that’s where I’m going dude.”

“Kid has a point,” said Ralston, “in the city, I’ve seen deaths from Smack, Coke, Meth and all manner of street drugs cut with rat poison, I never really had an issue with pot. It’s been decriminalized in Maryland and D.C. and will probably be legal nationwide eventually. We just need to pick our battles. Now you were caught selling drugs in Dalton, and you knew Tom Willeck.”

“I knew him, and yeah, I sold some shrooms and pot, but nothing like that Golden shit, dude, I only sell natural stuff, nothing from a lab man.”

“Spun Gold is a plant,” said Rupert.

“Yeah, but like some GMO genetically hybridized bullshit, not anything that grows naturally.”

“Spun Gold is a poppy that was genetically modified to have the properties of Belladonna, making it hallucinogenic and extremely deadly. But both Belladonna and Poppies are plants that grow out of the ground, hell cyanide comes from peach pits,” said Rupert.

“Dude, I just want people to be relaxed and happy, I don’t want them to die or some shit, you’re not a good salesman if you kill your customers, man.”

Rupert shook his head.

“Anyway, are we about to run this?” said Ralston irritably. “I’ll be the driver, Carson will get the evidence and Rupert will make the report and call the Calvary when we need it.”

“Sounds like a plan, dude,” said Carson as he climbed into the back seat. They decided to take Ralston’s black Range Rover. It was dark enough to remain undercover at night but nimble enough to keep up with suspects on winding mountain roads. 

Ralston drove out of town and to a field by the side of the mountain. He turned on a dirt road and drove down sloping hills past an old red barn and cow pasture. 

A mobile home the color of dust with small windows stood in a field near the pasture. On the front door hung a Rebel Flag. Ralston parked the rover about a quarter-mile from the home, thankful for the cover of night.

“All right Carson, you know the drill,” said Rupert. He gave a small microphone to Carson, the young man put the bug into one of his many pants pockets. “Now this is a dangerous person, give us a yell if you feel you’re in danger.”

“Dude, relax, I called Silas ahead of time and arranged a hangout, I used to sell weed here all the time. He’s a crazy asshole but if you keep your mouth shut and just sell or buy from him he won’t cause trouble.”

“All I know is I ain’t going up there,” said Ralston.

“Probably for the best my dude. Guy’s a racist asshole and one of those preppers for the zombie apocalypse, he has all these crazy theories,” said Carson, rolling his eyes.

Carson then opened the back door and rolled out of the back seat. He walked down the dirt road into the darkness. Through the microphone, they heard dogs barking and a man yelling “Go on, git.”

“Do y’all have the stuff?” asked Silas.

“Yeah, I have a pound of Purple Kush man, will that work for two ounces of Spun?”

Rupert wondered where Carson had kept the pound of weed, probably in one of the hundred ding dang pockets on his pants.

“All right, let’s keep this quick,” said Silas, “there’s a lot of talk about how the feds are on this, you can’t be too careful, especially after Tom got himself killed.”

“Totally, bro.”

There was a rustling sound and then the dogs started to act up again.

“I said, git!” 

Then there was a sound of a gate slamming and then silence.

Ten minutes later the back door opened to the Rover and Carson piled in. He fished through his pockets and found a small bag of yellow powder.

“I stashed the bug in a beer can, Silas was a little too jumpy to notice,” said Carson.

“It looks like we got the evidence,” said Rupert, “now we just have to wait.”

They waited for nearly two hours in the warm humid air. Rupert and Ralston kept an eye on the house for any sort of activity. Not much happened in the rest of the night. The next morning, they saw Silas feeding chickens in the yard and yelling at dogs under the porch. Ralston moved the Rover to a wooded area on top of the hill, hidden from the sight of the trailer. 

During the afternoon they listened for any activity, they heard Silas snoring, Fox News broadcasts in the background. Closer to evening they heard a WWE match on the television. Rupert saw a glimmer of light in the distance and pulled out his binoculars.

“Look there in the distance,” he said.

Ralston took the binoculars from Rupert and saw an old Trans AM pulling on the dirt road toward Silas’ house. The door opened and a large bald man in a suit got out and went to the trailer. There were several loud knocks.

“What in the hell do y’all want?” yelled Silas.

“Is that any way to address your boss?” asked a low, smooth voice on the other side.

“Sorry sir, be right there.” 

Silas opened the door, he was a man with a potbelly, a mustache, and a red ball cap.

“Come on in,” said Silas.

“I’d rather not,” sneered the bald man. “Have you found your other daughter, Chrystal?”

“She’s out running around somewhere; she’ll be heading back sometime soon.”

“We can’t afford to have witnesses; we need to find her and employ her.”

“She’s not smart, not like Goldie.”

“There are other uses for her.”

“Look, she ran out, she probably headed to her mom’s house. She doesn’t have any friends and we took care of her little boyfriend; I will find my ex-wife and take care of them both.”

The bald man sighed, “the King needs you at the base, it’s about distribution into the surrounding area, we need to discuss expanding our market past I 81, down into Baltimore and D.C.”

“I don’t want to step on anyone’s turf, there’s a bunch of gangs down there that I don’t want to deal with, and Baltimore, no thank you.”

“We’re missing on a huge market share, and the King wants bigger business Silas, if you’re considered a block to the market he will remove you from the equation,” the bald man purred.

“All right, I’ll go, just let git my truck.”

The bald man got into the Grand AM and took off, followed by an old Ford F-150. Ralston waited a good minute or so and took off after them. They followed them down a dirt road into the mountains, the dirt turned into gravel and the road was pitted and uneven. They followed the F-150 up hairpin turns roads steep inclines at nearly fifty miles an hour. 

Rupert’s teeth knocked together and he felt like they would take the shortcut down the mountain any minute. Ralston seemed exhilarated and heavily concentrated on steering the Rover. Carson looked as though he was going to hurl. 

The F150 and the Grand-Am parked by a metal gate framed by stone pillars with lions on top of them. Ralston parked the rover back towards the bottom of the hill covered by woods.

“I’ll get out here and follow them on foot while the gate is open” said Rupert. “You and Carson head back toward the station and present the evidence, try to get Chief to call the Calvary.” 

“You sure Ru?” asked Ralston. “That’s a dangerous idea, real dangerous.”

“I grew up in these woods all my life, I know enough to stay out of the way. By the way, don’t call me Ru, it’s Rupert or Mr. Stiltskin, now I need y’all to call for help, I’m going to try to find Goldie and make sure she’s safe.”

“Be careful, my dude,” said Carson.

“Don’t call me “my dude” either” said Rupert.

Ralston and Carson headed down the mountain at breakneck speed. Carson’s knuckles turned white as he held the back of the passenger headrest for dear life. When they got halfway down the mountain, out of earshot, Ralston blasted DMX “I Can Feel It” .

“This is my joy, this is why I do this, when I feel like I can’t live anymore, catching these thugs and making people safe is worth it. Y'all's roads kick ass over city traffic anytime, put your arms up Carson, we’re on a ride now.” 

“Dude, you’re crazy.”

“Crazy like a fox, woof! I was a tank driver in Afghanistan before I was a cop” He smiled at the horrified look Carson gave him. 

Ralston slowed down to a reasonable pace once they hit the paved road. He drove into town and back to the station. Carson handed Chief Ellis the bag of yellow powder.

“Silas is definitely pushing Spun,” said Ralston, they played the recording of both the sale and Silas’ meeting with the bald man. 

“We have enough to call in the calvary, where is Rupert?”

“Following the two on foot,” said Ralston.

“What?!” Chief Ellis shouted and pounded his fist on the desk. “We don’t have a warrant for that location, do you have any idea who lives there?”

“No, I don’t,” said Ralston.

“Freaking Albert Kingston, the CEO of Kingston Architecture, if Rupert gets caught without a search warrant we’ll be sued to kingdom come.” 

“So if they’re rich and white they have a free pass to sell drugs and ruin lives with impunity?” Asked Ralston.

“I didn’t say that,” said Chief Ellis. “All men are innocent until proven guilty.”  
“If Rupert is found on the property, you won’t have to worry about being sued, he’s never going to be seen again,” said Carson. “I think that’s what happened to Tom, can’t prove it though.”

Ralston’s phone chirped with a text message, attached he saw a photograph of a mansion, he was out back in a huge greenhouse with rows of yellow flowers.

“Is this enough evidence for you, Chief?” asked Ralston.

“I’m calling the county police ASAP, we’re gonna need their chopper for this!” said Chief Ellis. 

Rupert waited until Silas and the bald man got out of their vehicles before he left the rover. As soon as he left, the Rover quietly crept down the mountain, but Rupert knew Rals would take off like a bat out of hell as soon as he was out of earshot.

The bald man punched a code into the gate and it slowly opened, Rupert squeezed through silently before the gate closed, he regretted eating the rib sandwich as his gut nearly clanged against the iron. He followed behind enough to see their silhouettes in the dark. A tree branch snapped under his foot and he froze in fear. The two men in front looked behind and Rupert held his breath. 

“It’s only a deer, they’re everywhere out here,” said Silas.

A light shone back and Rupert ducked behind a bush and stayed very still.

“I suppose you’re right.” 

Rupert let out his breath as the two men started to walk forward again. He followed them for about an hour when he saw an oblong house built out of the side of the mountain. It was large and mostly windows, the floors cascaded under one another and a swimming pool was tiered over a large garage. The two men made their way to another security gate in the large stone wall surrounding the mansion

Rupert sighed and went further back into the woods, when he was out of earshot he called on his phone, the signal was very spotty and the call cut off. He managed to send a text to Ralson, he attached a few photos of the mansion and sent those as well.

He saw cameras placed every few feet along the walls. He decided to climb a tree to see into the yard and find evidence. Now it had been several years since he had climbed trees with Caleb in boy scouts, but not so long ago he forgot how. 

He found a sturdy walnut tree and hefted himself onto the larger branches. Catching his breath, he was now high up enough to see into the yard. There were cameras everywhere, except for one corner, in this corner was a huge greenhouse, probably where the Spun Gold was grown. 

He climbed down off the walnut tree and looked for another tree closer to where the greenhouse would be. A maple tree stood near the greenhouse side of the wall, not quite as strong as the walnut but he would have to take his chances. He huffed and puffed but managed to find purchase on the lower branches. He climbed toward the higher branches when he heard a snap. He quickly found purchase on another branch and it slowly bent over the wall. He let go and tumbled the remaining five feet. Rupert skinned his knee but that was the only damage he had.

He opened the door to the greenhouse and the pollen hit him immediately. He slammed the door before the headrush started. A woman with blonde curls and a gasmask ran out of the greenhouse and held him at gunpoint. 

Rupert held his hands up above his head.

“Goldie Miller?” The woman didn’t respond and still trained her gun on him. “I’m here to help you, but only if you let me.”

The woman took off her gas mask, she had a pretty face, similar to Mazzy’s and similar jade green eyes.

“You a cop?” she asked.

“DEA,” said Rupert.

“You don’t have a warrant, or you wouldn’t be climbing trees to get in here.”

“Look, I’m here to help, I saw your sister, Mazzy, or Chrystal, she said you’re being held here against your will, I’m here to help.”

The woman lowered her gun. “You’re right, I’m Goldie, you saw Chrystal? Is she ok?”

“Yeah, she’s someplace safe, they can’t hurt her.”

“Thank God!”

“Look, she told me they have your son.”

Goldie looked tired and nodded. “Yeah, his name is Bobby, he’s only two.” A tear left her eye. “They said I could have him back when I filled this room with flowers. Of course, they told me that after I filled the first two. They keep asking for more and more and the houses they just keep getting bigger. They’re asking me to work with CRISPR and come up with other combinations to get people high. He’s working on designing GMO drugs to take over the market.” She was near sobbing.

“Who is this person?”

“The King, that’s all I know about him, my father had a debt to him and he wanted me and Chrystal to pay for it. I’m just glad they didn’t find her.”

Just then Goldie motioned Rupert to the back of the greenhouse. 

“I think the cameras might have noticed you, they’re coming towards the greenhouse, I need you to lay low.”

Rupert’s cell phone went off, he looked and saw the call was coming in from Chief Ellis, he quickly answered.

“Stiltskin! I have called you three times with no answer.”

“Service is really bad out, I’m at the compound now, I found Goldie.”

“We have your location on GPS,” said Ellis. “Get ready for the HEAT squad to come through.”

A helicopter flew overhead and squad cars rushed the mansion, sirens blaring. Flash grenades blew in the towering glass windows and agents dressed in black filed into the mansion. There was the sound of gunfire exchanged when the King came out with a small blond boy held hostage in front of him.

“No!” yelled Goldie.

The King was just an average looking middle-aged man in a suit, nothing remarkable. The large bald man stood beside him; a semi-automatic aimed at the DEA agents. 

“Come out with your hands up!” Chief Ellis’ voice boomed over a megaphone. 

“One step closer and I’ll kill the boy,” said the King.

“Enough is enough, you ain’t killin’ my grandson,” said Silas behind him.

“I own you and your family, Silas,” said the King.

Suddenly Ralston came behind Silas, shoving him out of the way, Ralston was dressed in full tactical gear.

“Never forget I was the man that saved your sorry redneck ass!” 

Ralston then pulled the pin on a flash grenade and threw it towards the King rolling back with the toddler in his arms. The flash grenade went off, setting the King on fire, he screamed in pain and ran into the greenhouse, all the straw caught ablaze and the team ran away before the inferno’s heat blew out all the glass. The fire quickly spread to the mansion and everything caught ablaze, causing an inferno on the top of the mountain. Fire control choppers moved in to douse the flames before it spread to the nearby forest.

Rupert, Ralston, Goldie, and the child ran away from the chaos and made it to a nearby ambulance. An EMT took Goldie and the child as well as looked over Rupert. He had some minor burns but would survive. Ralston led the squad and brought Silas, the bald man, and several goons out in zip ties, and stuffed them in a large, black police van. Ralston then drove the van maniacally down the mountain, grinning from ear to ear the whole way down.

News of the raid put the small town of Castle on the national map. The King's real name was Albert Kingston CEO of an Architecture company, made a killing dealing arms to local white supremacist groups until he found the secret of Spun Golden. He was planning to build an empire on misery and run a major cartel out of the D.C. and Baltimore area. 

Silas got sentenced thirty years to federal prison but was knocked down to fifteen when he crowed like a stool pigeon on Kingston’s dealings.

Goldie Miller was let free by the courts as she was held under duress. She gained full custody of her son Bobby and went back to graduate from Morgantown University. She married a professor a year after, presumably Bobby’s father, and later became the head of the biology department. She had offers to work for major pharmaceutical companies but denied them all, knowing some poison was sold legally.

Mazzy aka Crystal Miller fully testified and received treatment at Mountain Manor. She graduated high school, and moved to Hilton New York to live with her mother, Ruby Miller. Both she and her mother opened a small diner and did quite well.

Ralston decided he actually loved the action and joined the CIA, he is a top-secret agent and cannot officially tell anyone of his whereabouts. He may have been seen last in Mexico fighting a major cartel, but if he told someone, he’d have to kill them.

Carson moved to Colorado and did quite well working for a legal dispensary and bakery. 

Rupert Stiltskin took leave after the tower of paperwork court hearings were done with. He and Norma went to the theater of Dalton Middle school to see Frankenstein vs the Horrendous Goo, featuring Caleb Stiltskin, and it was the greatest show he ever did see.


End file.
